Events
The defense of Tigran Aleksanyan’s dissertation took place at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography
On February 12, the first PhD dissertation defense of 2026 was held in the reading hall of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the NAS RA (IAE). At the session of Specialized Council 007 “Archaeology and Ethnography,” operating under the Higher Attestation Commission (HAC) at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Tigran A. Alexanyan presented his dissertation entitled “The Medieval Fortification of Berd Region.” The session was attended by the Director of the Institute, of Historical Sciences, Arsen Bobokhyan, staff members of various departments, archaeologists, historians, students, and other guests. The meeting was chaired by the head of the Specialized Council, Corresponding Member of the NAS RA, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Pavel Avetisyan. The academic secretary of the Council was Arsen Harutyunyan, PhD. The dissertation was supervised by Dianna Mirijanyan, PhD. The official opponents were Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Hamlet Petrosyan, and Armine Zohrabyan, PhD. The leading organization was Yerevan State University. The dissertation focuses on the study of medieval fortification structures and defense systems of the Berd region (formerly Shamshadin, later Tavush region, and currently the enlarged community of Berd), located in the northeastern part of the Republic of Armenia. During the presentation, Tigran Alexanyan outlined the general scope, aims, and objectives of the research, noting that it represents the first attempt to systematically study and present the medieval fortification monuments of the region, the available scholarly data, and previous research perspectives. The dissertation addresses the principles of construction of these monuments, their building phases, chronology, and historical development. It also introduces into scholarly circulation photographs, scale drawings, measurements, and a substantial corpus of archaeological materials uncovered during excavations. Speeches were delivered by Pavel Avetisyan, Arsen Harutyunyan, Dianna Mirijanyan, the official opponents, and other scholars present. As a result of a secret ballot, all 9 members of the Specialized Council voted in favor of the dissertation, and Tigran Alexanyan was awarded the PhD degree.
2026-02-12
The researchers of the Department of Diaspora Studies visited Istanbul to conduct field research
On January 21–24, 2025, the researchers of the Department of Diaspora Studies of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography NAS RA Salvine Markosyan, Mariam Harutyunyan, Nelly Khachaturyan visited Istanbul to conduct field research. During the visit, meetings were held with the editorial team of Agos newspaper, Aras Publishing House and the Yesayan Association, and preliminary data were collected. This visit will serve as a foundation for further research within the framework of Salvine Markosyan’s dissertation, “Community Life of Istanbul Armenians Through the Newspapers Agos, Jamanak, and Nor Marmara.” The visit was carried out with the support of the Gulbenkian Foundation.
2026-01-30
The 2025 Annual Report Meeting Was Held at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography
On 12 December, the annual meeting for 2025 was held in the reading hall of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography (IAE) of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, during which the year’s outcomes were summarized and the main results of the Institute’s activities were presented. The Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Doctor of Historical Sciences Arsen Bobokhyan, delivered a report on the Institute’s scientific, educational, and organizational work carried out in 2025. At the conclusion of the meeting, addresses were delivered by Doctor of Economic Sciences, Academician, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia Yuri Suvaryan, and Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Scientific Director of the IAE Pavel Avetisyan, who highly commended the activities of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, its achieved results, and its development trends. The attendees also posed questions to A. Bobokhyan regarding implemented programs, existing challenges, and future strategic priorities.
2025-12-12
Lecture: “Issues of the Continuous Monitoring of Monuments: The Case of the Cultural Heritage of Artsakh.
On December 1, a seminar of the Research Group of the Historical and Cultural Heritage of Artsakh was held in the reading hall of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the NAS RA. Group member Hamazasp Abrahamyan delivered a lecture titled “Issues of the Continuous Monitoring of Monuments: The Case of the Cultural Heritage of Artsakh.” The seminar was attended by members of the group, headed by the group leader, Doctor of Historical Sciences and Professor Hamlet Petrosyan, as well as other participants interested in the topic. At the conclusion of the seminar, a discussion took place during which the attendees posed questions to the speaker.
2025-12-02
Researchers of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography Participated in the International Religion Studies Seminar in Blagoevgrad
On November 20–22, the International University Seminar on Balkan Studies and Specialisations at the Southwestern University “Neofit Rilski” in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, brought together scholars from various countries for a round-table discussion on “Religion and Religiosity – The Balkans and the Black Sea Region.” This was the 35th forum held in this format. The seminar brought together researchers from Armenia, Georgia, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, Japan, Kosovo, and Bulgaria to discuss the role of religion across historical, cultural, social, and political contexts. The round-table was attended by researchers from the Department of Diaspora Studies of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia—PhD Nelli Khachatryan, Salvine Markosyan, and Mariam Harutyunyan. The participants presented a report titled “Ethnic Spaces, Social Institutions, and the Intergenerational Transmission of Religiosity in Diaspora.”
2025-11-27
Presentation of the monograph “Cultural Policy in Soviet and Post-Soviet Armenia”
Recently, with the endorsement of the Academic Council of the Faculty of History at Yerevan State University (YSU), a 208-page monograph titled “Cultural Policy in Soviet and Post-Soviet Armenia”, authored by Haykuhi M. Muradyan, PhD in History and researcher at the Artsakh Cultural Heritage Studies Group of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, was published. The work provides a comprehensive overview of the formation of Armenia’s cultural policy from 1920 to the present. On November 24, the book presentation took place at the library of YSU’s Faculty of History, attended by specialists interested in the topic, faculty members, students, and guests. The event was opened by Mkhitar Gabrielyan, Dean of the Faculty of History at YSU, who underscored the scholarly and practical significance of the monograph and congratulated the author. The book’s scientific editor, Professor Hamlet Petrosyan, Doctor of Historical Sciences, also delivered welcoming remarks, describing the monograph as a long-awaited and exceptional study. Gayane Kanatin, Scientific Director of the “SIREH” Cultural Heritage Research, Preservation, and Development Center and one of the initiators of the publication, emphasized in her address that the release of the monograph represents one of the key achievements of their organization. The publication was carried out within the framework of the pilot programs of the European Heritage Center and co-funded by the European Union and Europa Nostra. The importance of the book was further highlighted by Yulia Antonyan, Associate Professor at the Department of Cultural Studies of YSU’s Faculty of History, as well as Nzhdeh Yeranyan, PhD in History and Deputy Scientific Director of the History Museum of Armenia, both of whom congratulated the author on her valuable research contribution. The monograph was then presented by the author herself. The work includes an Introduction and the following chapters: “Definitions of Cultural Policy: “A Critical Review of Theoretical Approaches” “Cultural Policy in Soviet Armenia” “The New Conceptual Formation of Cultural Policy” “From Theory to Practice: Current Amendments to the RA Law on the Preservation and Use of Immovable Historical and Cultural Monuments and Historical Environment, and Their Semantic-Structural Problems”. At the end of the presentation, attendees posed questions to H. Muradyan and emphasized the importance of the monograph both for academic research and for the study of cultural policy formation processes.
2025-11-26
